Harry Potter and the Fire Heiress
by LokitaNaky
Summary: The Fire Nation is at war again... and once more, they're the bad guys. All of them? Well, no, nothing is all black or white is it? What happens when the boy-who-lived meets with the Heiress of the Fire Nation.
1. Benders and Wizards

**Harry Potter and the Fire Heiress by LokitaNaky**

**Chapter 1 : Benders and Wizards**

Two wide green eyes stared out the window impatiently, while a finger twisted a lock of black hair.

'You're not going to stay by the window all day, are you?' a calm voice called.

The girl turned her head towards her father's voice, only a short moment, before staring back out the open window.

'It's been three _weeks_!' she said, a small complaint in her voice. Yue Qi sat at the low table, and poured himself a cup of tea. The man was tall and slim with honey colored, slanted eyes, cinnamon skin and long, curly black hair. They had been in England for a few months, after his insane cousin, Manish, killed his father, the Fire Lord. After a short civil war, they had been exiled, as Manish took the power to avenge his great grandmother, Princess Azula. Yue Qi was the first born of three and so, he should have been the new Fire Lord. His younger brother had been killed in the civil war, while the youngest tried to build up a small army of his own.

'I wouldn't be surprised if your uncle is quite busy at the moment, Nalani. I sent him a letter myself to ask him about the state of the war. He only has a few men. Come here, sit down,' he said with a warm smile.

Nalani walked towards the table without taking her eyes off of the window. She also had tanned cinnamon skin and thick, curly black hair she had a hard time managing. Only a few people in the Fire Nation had curly hair, and it was usually very curly. Her big green eyes were slightly slanted, and she had big ears that stuck out. She looked much older than she was. At only ten she was almost fully developed, which was normal where she was from, but all the little girls in her neighborhood who were her age were so much smaller, and looked so much younger. She didn't go play with them much because of that; she was too uncomfortable around them. She usually stayed with her younger brother, a nine years old who looked almost as old as her, and spent their time meditating and practicing their Firebending skills. Nalani sighed heavily as she sat down. She kept twisting random locks of her hair, nervously. Her father poured another cup of tea and pushed it towards her.

'Nalani, you _know_ this could take years to sort out, the last—'

'I know,' Nalani cut him off, 'the last war lasted over a hundred years. Believe me, Father, that was Sensei Tanaka's favorite subject…' she sighed looking down at her tea. 'I don't want the war to last a hundred years. Two years is long enough.'

She looked out the window with sad eyes. 'I also wrote to Kuzon … I only know that he ran off into Earth Kingdom territory.'

'So it's _his _letter you're waiting for,' her father acknowledged simply. When she said nothing, he went on, 'I know it's hard for you, Little Flame, but you'll make other friends, okay?'

She looked up at him, not reassured in the least.

'But… what if I _do_ make friends, and then… we go back?'

At that comment, a voice from behind answered her sternly, 'So you'll just isolate yourself like a savage little girl?'

A woman was standing in the doorway with two cotton bags full of groceries in her hands. She was a very petite woman with pleasant curves. She had big round blue eyes, a small round nose and a round face. Her hair was long, wavy and brown. Her skin was a reddish light brown. The dark circles under her eyes indicated that she wasn't sleeping much. Huhana was the third daughter of the Water Tribe Chief and had been betrothed to Yue Qi as a peace contract between the Water Tribe and the Fire Nation.

'Your brother is being more mature than that, Nali,' she chided.

At those words, a little boy emerged from behind her with two more grocery bags. He was tall for his age, and quite skinny. He had his father's slanted yellow eyes, and his mother's round nose and face. The only thing that indicated he was only nine years old was his facial features and his voice. His skin was darker than his mother's, but lighter than his father's or sister's. He grinned at his sister, 'Who's the crybaby now? Na-na-na-na-na!'

'Kiran!' His mother warned.

'Yeah, forget about that new move you wanted me to teach you.' Nalani answered, glaring at her brother. Her father gave a small chuckle, but stopped quickly at his wife's protest.

'Yue Qi! You're encouraging them.'

'Sorry, Love,' he answered quickly.

A flapping noise at the window got their attention.

'FINALLY!' Nalani cried, walking straight towards the window, then stopped abruptly. Instead of her Falcon, Ping-Lu, a brown owl sat on the bird perch, a letter attached to its leg. Nalani looked at her mother standing behind her, a puzzled look on her face. Huhana looked at her husband with the same expression on her features. He simply smirked mischievously. Nalani finally took the letter from the owl and watched it fly away through the window again.

'Who is it from?' Huhana asked eagerly, with a small smile in her husband's direction. The young girl turned the letter around and read aloud:

_Miss N. Onenga,_

_The second bedroom on the second floor_

_12, Springfield Close_

_Watlington, _

_Oxfordshire_

'That's… creepy?' Nalani said looking at the letter as if trying to see through it.

'Well… open it. Let's see what it says,' her father pressed. She opened it very carefully, sliding the parchment out of the envelope, and read aloud again:

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY_

_Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore _

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc. Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

_Dear Miss Onenga,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31._

_Yours, sincerely _

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

_P.S. A staff member will come in five days to help you find your way through Diagon Alley, as you are probably not very familiar with the United Kingdom's Wizarding Community._

Nalani pulled a second piece of parchment in the envelope, while her father took the letter to read it.

'Wow!' she said looking up from the list with a surprised smile. She glanced at her father who was grinning madly.

He ruffled her hair, and said, 'See, you'll make friends and you'll even get to _actually_ go to school. That's great news, Little Flame. Isn't it?' he took the list and scanned it quickly.

'It's like the Academy right?'

'Yes… except… without the Firebending training,' he stated.

'I can practice on my own, Father!' the young girl protested.

Her mother squeezed her shoulder gently. 'We know, Nali. But you won't be able to learn anything new, is what your father meant.'

'I'll still have summer vacation, won't I? And don't they have Holidays on the winter solstice too?' she said, rereading the letter.

'So someone from the school is going to come over here in a few days?' she said, putting the letter on the table.

'How do we make sure you workout and meditate?' her father asked her raising an eyebrow. Nalani rolled her eyes and made a little dance, while singing, 'No more home schooling. I'll get to play with normal kids. And I won't have any more Etiquette lessons, yay me!'

'I thought you _liked_ those lessons!' her father said in mock hurt.

Her mother had walked to the small office and was back with a piece of parchment. She wrote a quick note with a small calligraphic pen, and said,

'There! We'll just have to wait until Ping-Lu comes back to send our reply.'

**A/N: Well, that's chapter one. A few things I would like to say about the story, that some people might find confusing at first: I (obviously) smashed together the HP world and the ATLA world. To make a few things work, I decided that in the ATLA world, benders and non-benders were the equivalent of wizards and muggles. Therefore, Benders ARE wizards in this Fic. Reviews would be friendly... and welcome ^-^!**

**Disclaimers: HP belongs to JKR and ATLA belongs to Bryke, yay!  
**


	2. Dragons

**Harry Potter and the Fire Heiress by LokitaNaky**

**Chapter 2 : Dragons**

Yue Qi was playing the Tsungi Horn at the table, in front of a cup of tea. Nalani came in. She was wearing a beautiful three-piece dress from the Fire Nation. Her hair was straight and styled with golden flowers and other colored hairpins. Half of it was up, with hair carefully place over her ears on each side, and a few strands hung loose at the front to make sure they stayed well hidden.

'Happy Birthday, Princess!' her father greeted her.

'Happy Birthday!' her brother cheered excessively.

'Thanks, Father,' she said with a smile, giving him a hug. 'Thanks, Skinny.'

'Your mother did a great job with your hair,' Yue Qi said.

She sat at the table and served herself a cup of Jasmine tea, ignoring the deathly glare from her brother. There was a small pile of unpacked gifts next to her on the floor. She grabbed a small blue necklace that was lying on the table. It had a small symbol on it.

'Luck!' Nalani said, smiling.

'Is that one from Kuzon?' her father asked knowingly, putting the Horn aside. He reached to observe the necklace, gave it back to Nalani and started playing again.

'Yeah, he says in the letter that he had it made and all,' she answered, blushing.

'Well, I must admit I am quite glad you two are getting along,' he told her.

Kiran, who was eating Fire-pops, gave an evil grin and started shouting loudly: 'Nalani and Kuzon sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!'

Nalani glared menacingly at her brother. 'You have three seconds to get out of here, before I roast you, Kiran!'

The little boy jumped over the low table and ran into the living room while Nalani shot a flame behind him. Her father stopped playing, giving her a disapproving glance. She smiled innocently at him, until he started playing again. A sad frown slowly replaced her smile.

'It's really not the same to have a birthday party by mail…' she said looking sadly at the presents her father had probably opened, early in the morning, to make sure they were all safe.

'I don't think the neighborhood kids will show up.' She said glumly. She got up to go to her room, but her father gently grabbed her arm.

'I know this is hard for you, but you know what our situation is like.' Nalani sat back and took her necklace to put it on.

'Yeah… I just wish it was all over,' she said.

'Don't you think your mother and I do?' inquired Yue Qi.

'Yeah. But, Mother told me that you didn't want to take over the throne so early anyway, and—'

Before they could talk further, a "whoosh" sound came from the living room, interrupting them, followed by Kiran storming in.

'Wow! Father, there's a vampire in the fireplace!' Kiran exclaimed with big round eyes.

His father pushed him aside, rising from the cushion he was sitting on, and walked to the living room. Huhana, who had also heard the sound from upstairs, had just come in the living room too. A tall man in black robes, with dirty, long black hair, was standing in front of the fireplace, brushing off the ashes from his robes.

'Welcome, sir. I suppose you are the staff member sent by Hogwarts?' Yue Qi said to the man, bowing slightly, his hands in front of his chest, left fist against the bottom of his right palm, as went the Fire Nation tradition.

'Yes, indeed. My name is Severus Snape,' the man answered, bowing too, not sure what to do with himself.

'I will be taking you to Diagon Alley. Which one of these children is going to Hogwarts?' he asked, looking down at the siblings, who both looked old enough to go to the Wizarding School. Nalani stepped in front of her father, respectfully bowing to Snape, like her father had done, only slightly lower.

'I am honored to meet you, Sensei. My name is Nalani Onenga.'

Snape rolled his eyes before stiffly bowing again. Yue Qi then pulled Kiran next to his sister, 'This is my son Kiran. He's only nine years old, so he'll only be going in two years. Assuming we stay that long of course.'

The child bowed in the same way the others had. 'Pleasure to meet you, Sensei.'

Turning to his wife who was approaching, the man finished, 'And this is my wife, Huhana.'

She also bowed, but joined her hands together and kept them on her lap. Snape gave a last short bow before saying, with a note of impatience in his voice, 'Shall we go then? I believe you have school material to buy.'

'Of course, let's go.' Yue Qi said at once, putting on his shoes. The rest of the family did the same, while Snape stood there, still overwhelmed and a bit annoyed by the polite welcoming he had just received. He gave them each a little fabric bag, containing a green powder.

'Just throw the content in the fireplace and announce clearly your destination. You should buy some floo powder in Diagon Alley, while you are there. It was already arranged with the Ministry of Magic to put you on the Floo Network. Please do be careful to articulate when saying your destination,' Snape said, before going in the fireplace.

He took a handful of the green powder from a little bag that hung at his belt and said with a strong, clear voice before throwing it: 'Diagon Alley.' He disappeared in a swirl of green flames.

'Well, I'll go next then,' Yue Qi said, taking the little bag and opening it.

He walked in the fireplace and said, 'Diagon Alley' before emptying the bag and disappearing the same way.

Before going after his father, Kiran turned around to face his big sister. 'Did you see his hair? I hope not all your teachers will look like him, or you'll have to introduce the lot of them to shampoo.'

Nalani's mouth fell open in shock. Huhana gave them both a warning look when they started laughing, before shooing the younger child away. Nalani could have sworn she'd seen her mother laugh.

She hopped in the fireplace and swirled for what felt like hours, before her feet touched the ground again. _Nope, not my favorite way of traveling_ she thought, waiting for the dizziness to stop. She spotted her father and brother with Snape and joined them, her mother right behind.

'Gringotts is the wizarding bank,' Snape said in a dry tone, pointing at the impressive building. 'We can then go to Ollivander's to get your wand.'

He didn't wait for an answer before leading the way, his robes almost floating around his ankles. Kiran kept making nasty comments about the teacher's appearance, making his sister burst out laughing and earning death glares from his mother.

'He looks like a wolf-bat,' Nalani whispered to Kiran who's attention was now on the Gringotts goblins. _They're really nasty looking,_ Nalani thought with a shiver.

Kiran and Nalani both started laughing until their parents glared at them. While walking towards the shop, Snape was talking to Yue Qi and Huhana in a low voice.

'Headmaster Dumbledore had heard of the Fire-Nation's current political situation, as well as your hiding, here in Britain. So when he received your request to enroll your children for the duration of the war, he thought wise to arrange Firebending lessons.'

'Really? That's very good news. Who will teach them?' asked the Watertribe woman.

'The Headmaster has seen that a competent Firebending teacher was hired. He goes by "Master Hinu," maybe you know him?' Snape answered.

Yue Qi nodded, 'He's very good. And he is loyal to the… ah, mentally stable side of the family. From what I know, he's been exiled,' he concluded.

'Yes. So,' continued Snape, 'considering that the war would last longer than desired, both your children will be able to receive a good magical education. As well as training in their bending abilities. Should they show sings of Waterbending talents,' he looked pointedly at Huhana, 'arrangements will also be made. There we are,' Snape announced, stopping in front of a little shop.

They all entered the shop and the old wandmaker almost came to the front at once.

'Oh, Severus! I haven't seen you in a very long time. What have we here? Did they stick you with Muggles?' The old man said, approaching the small group with a smile and unblinking, blue eyes.

'Nothing of the sort,' assured Snape, with a small, barely noticeable, sneer. 'This is the Fire Nation's Royal family.'

'Pleased to meet you, sir,' Yue Qi told the old man, bowing as he had done earlier with Snape. This time, sparing the old man the presentations, the rest of the family simply bowed.

'Firebenders, you say? Very interesting, very interesting indeed,' the old man murmured to himself.

'So which one of you two will be going to Hogwarts this year then?' he asked the two kids. Nalani took a step forward and bowed once more.

'That would be me, sir,' she told him.

'Very well, let's see what type of wand will choose a Firebender,' Ollivander said mysteriously, rubbing his hands together and disappearing in the back of the store. Nalani looked around quizzically, and realized that Snape had disappeared in a dark corner of the store. The old wizard came back with a few small long boxes.

'Try this one first,' he said, carefully choosing a box. He handed the wand to her only to snatch it back when it started smoking in her hands.

'It seems this will be a little more challenging than I thought,' he said, pulling out another wand.

After what seemed like an hour, and fifty smoking wands, Nalani finally got to hold a wand longer than three seconds, without setting random objects on fire. The tip of the wand let out a few flaming sparkles.

She looked up at the old man who stood smiling. 'Seven and a half inches, Ash, Dragon heartstring.'

Nalani let out a small, gasp. 'Dragon _heartstring?_'

She looked carefully at the wand she was holding, as if it was the saddest thing she'd ever seen. Yue Qi kneeled in front of his daughter, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder, before whispering, 'It's alright Little Flame, I'm sure they don't kill dragons _just _to make wands.'

**A.N.: Yep, I threw in Snape as the staff member stuck to accompany the royal family, cause honestly, who'd be better to be stuck with annoying little spoiled kids from a royal family? Yeah you see where i'm going with this aren't you?**

**Disclaimers: HP belongs to JKR and ATLA belongs to Bryke, yay!  
**


	3. Dragons and Snakes

**Harry Potter and the Fire Heiress by LokitaNaky**

**Chapter 3: Dragons and snakes**

After Nalani had gotten her wand, Snape found himself looking after the two children while Yue Qi and Huhana went back and arranged some paperwork at Gringotts. Kiran was walking next to the professor, staring at him with an idiotic grin. Snape stopped abruptly, finally losing the little patience he had.

'Is there any specific reason why you are staring at me like an idiot Mr Onenga? Or do you simply appreciate being an utter annoyance?' the man said in a dry, menacing tone.

Kiran, who did not seem even a bit impressed, grinned more, if that was even possible, before asking innocently 'Is your hair this greasy naturally, or is it because you don't wash it? And what's with all the black? Makes you looks all pasty and stuff –'

'Okay, I think you said everything there was to say about Sensei's lack of fashion, Kiran,' Nalani quickly interrupted, slamming both her hands over Kiran's mouth.

'Forgive him sir. My brother doesn't know how to hold his tongue.' She bowed to her teacher. 'And I doubt he ever will!' she added through her teeth, glaring at the boy who was grinning innocently.

'Well Mr Onenga, it looks like if you don't do something about your arrogance before coming to Hogwarts, you will spend plenty of time in detention,' Snape said darkly to the small figure in front of him.

'I was just being honest, sir!' Kiran said defensively.

Snape glared at him, before striding forward. The two kids ran behind him to keep up.

'Great, now he'll take it out on me at school. Wait till we get home Skinny…' Nalani said glaring at her little brother. Something suddenly caught her attention. She ran to a window display on her left, Snape turned around to see where she ran to, and rolled his eyes seeing her looking at the new brooms with the other kids.

'Wow!' she said pressing her face on the window. She turned to a pale, blond boy next to her.

'You fly on _those_?' she asked him in amazement.

The boy sneered at her before replying coldly, 'Yes.'

'Wow… we used gliders in the Fire-Nation. They were originally use by the Airbenders, who bent the air to fly, but the Mechanist introduced it to the other nations after the war and –'

'Wait! Fire Nation? Airbenders? You're an Elemental?' The boy looked at her strangely, cutting her short in her rant. Nalani nodded slowly. The boy's attitude changed slightly.

'You're having me on! So you're saying you can manipulate fire and stuff?' He asked her.

'Its called Firebending,' Nalani retorted sneering slightly. 'And yes, I can Firebend! I'd be a quite pitiful heir to the fire nation throne if I couldn't!' she added looking down on the boy, which wasn't hard since she was at least a head taller than him.

'Wait … you mean you're the Fire Nation princess?' The blond boy asked, his mouth gaping a few seconds.

Nalani nodded again.

'Well that explains the fancy outfit, I guess…' he considered her for a few seconds. 'A Firebender, huh?' He asked slowly. Nalani remembered that Elementals didn't travel much outside of the Elemental Territories, and figured that it was rare for other people to actually _meet_ a real Bender.

'Prove it!' the boy suddenly requested. She held her hand up, as if holding something, a flame appeared in her hand, and then, covered it, before disappearing.

The boy looked shocked, but recovered quickly. Putting out his hand with a smirk on his face, 'Draco Malfoy,' he said simply.

'Nalani Onenga,' she said with a smile. She looked at the hand he was holding out strangely.

'I would recommend you do not display your abilities in public like this, Miss Onenga.' A shadow was suddenly towering over them.

'Oh? Why is that, Sensei?' she asked the tall figure. Snape stared at the little girl, but did not answer.

'Hum, so, why aren't you in the Fire Nation then?' Draco asked, breaking the awkward silence. 'If you're the princess and all.'

'Well, Mr. Malfoy, Miss Onenga will be joining you at Hogwarts in the first years.' Snape answered before the little girl could talk. Malfoy looked at her like she had suddenly grown a second head.

'First year? Really? How old are you?' the boy said.

'Huh, I'm eleven today,' she said awkwardly. 'I look older, I know.'

'Miss Onenga still as a lot of school material to buy. So if you'll excuse us, Mr Malfoy we'll be on our way now,' Snape cut in.

'Oh, I was heading to Madame Malkin's while my parents are getting my books and cauldron. Would you care to join me?' Draco asked importantly.

'Sure.' Kiran said, popping from behind Snape, who glared down at the boy. He was walking next to the blond boy and was a few inches taller. 'So, what's Hogwarts like?' Kiran asked.

The two boys were talking casually, when they walked in front of the owl emporium.

'Sensei Snape, do you only use owls to send letters?' Nalani asked suddenly.

Malfoy spoke before Snape could answer. 'Hum, what's sensei?'

'It means teacher. Earthbenders and Airbenders say sifu. Waterbenders say ilinniatitsiji.' Kiran explained.

Nalani looked back at Snape, 'I have a messenger falcon. So I was wondering if –'

'You may bring your falcon.' Snape finished, annoyed.

They entered the shop while Snape stayed outside with Kiran. _This is going to be interesting_ Nalani thought, when she saw her brother talking to a very annoyed Snape.

**A/N: Chapter 3 is terribly short, and I posted it 10 gazillion times, sorry about that. That's what happens when I try to do something in the middle of the week past my bedtime. I noticed a few people adding my story to their Story Alert and favorites.  
So... thanks loads to: **

**Shadow of a Life**

**starwarsjunkie110292**

**hEAvEN's Rejects**

**squeaks c3**

**LoveGinnyHermione**

**kaczor85**

**If I missed anyone, sorry very much! And to all of my current and future readers, don't be shy to review... do mind your language though :-P! If you have questions about the ATLA universe in my fic, feel free to ask. I'll answer if it don't spoil any future plot.**

**Disclaimers: HP belongs to JKR and ATLA belongs to Bryke, yay!**


	4. Dragons, Snakes and Lions

**A.N.: Before jumping into the story, I'll answer to the few questions I was asked. I'll admit I was expecting these questions. But as the very weird comic artist that i am... stuff often works better in my head... so my MAIN answer is... just go with it people! Do you REALLY need a scientific explanation for everything? I suppose you should know I came up with this idea after a dream I had after falling asleep while reading a HP fanfic after I watched 3 ATLA episodes!**

**1- Q: How is the Elemental (Bending) world/Avatar-universe fitting in our own world?  
A: Make the earth about 7.5/9 times bigger than it is now, stick the Avatar-universe on the empty spot and you might want to push the earth a few thousand of kilometers away from the sun so that the new increase in the size doesn't unbalance the gravitation of earth around the yellow star. And VOILA instant cross-over sweetness... srsly I don't know, I haven't thought about it because, where is Diagon Alley IRL and how do you fall in a rabbit hole and end up in Wonderland aren't questions I ask myself anymore. Like I said, just go with it, it works in my head.**

**2- Q: How is it separate from the rest of the world?/ How is it hidden from the rest of the world?/ How doesn't the rest of the world know about the Benders/Elementals?  
A: How doesn't Muggles know about the Wizarding world? (except **** the one in Orlando I guess!)**

**3- Q: Exactly how long after the last war is this war?  
A: Hum, I'm not sure if I actually mention it later in the fic, but about 200 years. Give or take a few years.**

**4- Q: Are Aang or any of the rest still alive?  
A: (See question 3) Hum... nah, even Guru Pathik is most likely dead.**

**5- Q: Is the current Avatar trying to stop the war?  
A: Ahhh... that one I'm not answering that one *smirks*. You'll have to keep reading teehee! ^-^**

**6- Q: Did the Air Nomads completely die out with Aang?  
A: Hum... That's another one you'll have to wait for!  
7- Q: Will we see much of the bender world?  
A: Idem...  
8- Q: And how is Azula ANYONE's great-grandmother?  
A: *Laughs for 15 mins, catches her breath* Yeah I know, but even crazies need love... or... i don't know... You still gotta admit, Azula was quite the hottie. And to answer the rest of your quechtee-on (yeah, i'm tired and tired, lol... please don't ask XD I'm crying with laughter, and I don't know why...) Huh... She got pity visits from Chan ... I suppose... work with me here :-P! All jokes and craziness aside, even in the story it's pretty unclear how Azula got knocked up, but she did, but didn't raise the kid.**

**9- Q: Why didn't anyone do anything about the hundred-year war for world domination?  
A: The war was restricted to the elemental part of this world! Elementals don't really care about the rest of the world since a while before Aang's time. More on that later in this fic :-)! So really, no one but Avatar-universe people were concerned in the war. Maybe It would have gotten further if Phoenix King Ozai had won. And well... Obviously, Aang did something aboot(cuz I'm canadian XD) it, eh?**

**And now, without further ... waiting? ON WITH TEH STORIEZ! (Okay, I need to go sleep now!)**

**Harry Potter and the Fire Heiress by LokitaNaky**

**Chapter 4 : Dragons, snakes and lions**

Nalani glanced back to see her brother dragging Professor Snape. The latter looked like he was doing a great deal of effort not to strangle the boy. _I'm doomed! _Nalani thought with a pained expression. Not long after they were both being fitted, a small boy with messy black hair entered the shop. He was skinny and his clothes were awfully large. Nalani noticed that, he too, had bright green eyes. Madam Malkin started pinning the boy's robes.

'Hullo,' Draco greeted the other boy, 'Hogwarts too?'

'Yes,' the small boy answered.

Draco started going on about his parents, brooms and something called Quidditch. Nalani could tell the other boy had no idea what Draco was going on about. And then, when Draco said something about the gigantic man standing at the window, the boy got slightly upset. Before she could hear the boy's reply, the lady who was fitting her robes was done and moved on to do Draco's.

Nalani waved at her friend, 'See you later Draco.'

She hurried out of the store, without waiting for a reply, to try and rescue the poor teacher from her "annoying little bother." She looked around, and, not seeing the pair, decided to wait in front of the store, next to the big man. Not too long after, the raven-haired boy came out of the store. Recognizing Nalani, he gave her a short nod.

'Hey, are you okay? You looked a bit upset in there,' she asked him.

'No, I'm fine. Thanks,' the boy answered with a small smile.

'If it makes you feel better, Hogwarts is pretty new for me too.' Nalani told him grinning encouragingly.

'So you have no clue what Quidditch is?' he asked her.

'I guess it's a game or something,' she replied, shrugging.

The giant held out a big chocolate and raspberry ice cream for the boy. Nalani caught a glimpse of a tall figure dressed in black dragging a very small boy with ice cream.

'Well, that's my cue. I'll see you at school? My name's Nalani by the way!' she said.

'Harry.' The boy said with a smile.

'Cool, see ya!' Nalani finished running off towards the dark silhouette.

She reached a very grumpy looking Snape and a quite happy looking Kiran. 'I hope my brother didn't cause you too much trouble, Sensei?' Nalani asked with the sweetest smile she could put on.

'No… not the slightest trouble…' the man answered sarcastically through gritted teeth, glaring down at the boy who was happily eating his ice cream next to him.

Looking down at her brother, Nalani realized that Snape was holding out a bubble gum flavored ice cream for her. She took it, thanking the man. Snape ignored her, and walked forward. She suspected her brother had been a right pain, so she tried to stay as silent as possible for the rest of the day. Later they entered Flourish & Blotts, and Kiran, seeing the shelves of books stacked to the ceiling, tried to run out of the store, but got dragged back by Nalani.

'Well… I guess it's a good place to practice firebending,' Kiran told her with a mischievous smile.

They didn't stay in too long. Kiran wasn't very fond of books, and Nalani could sense Snape's patience was wearing thin, so she got what she needed and left. Their next stop was the cauldron shop. Nalani could not believe that Snape was really speaking to them. This was the most talking he had done all morning. He was explaining which type of cauldrons should be used in different brews. He looked very satisfied at the two children that were now staring at him in awe.

'Wow!' Kiran explaimed, when Snape was finished, 'You just had a whole monologue going on!'

Snape's faced darkened quickly and Nalani rounded on her brother.

'Kiran!' she yelled disbelievingly.

Snape looked like he was about to yell at the young boy when a voice interrupted him.

'Why, I cannot believe my eyes.'

All three looked in the voice's direction. Nalani saw a tall blond man with grey eyes walking towards them. Nalani stared at his long blond hair and thought he must be Draco's father. Next to him was a beautiful blond woman with blue eyes. She was always fascinated by how many people had very light hair here. In any other Nation, Tribe or Kingdom she knew, everyone had brown or dark brown hair. Very few had blond hair. She had heard of it, but only as something called albino. Of course, old people's hair whitened with the years, but this was different. Another hair color Nalani found fascinating was red, or as she called it, orange. One of her neighbors was a redhead, and the first time she saw him, she had stared at his hair for at least ten minutes. It was so strange to her.

'Did Dumbledore finally get you to help one of those muggleborn families, Severus?' the blond man asked.

'Lucius,' Snape said with a nod. 'Narcissa,' another nod. Then he looked at the other man again, 'I would think you more educated about foreign Wizarding communities, Lucius. Can't you recognize Fire Nation attire when you see it?'

'Fire Nation?' the blond man asked, looking at the two children. He took a step

forward, examining the two kids.

'How very interesting,' he said, 'we don't see Elementals often. Not outside of their territories, that is. You practice Firebending? I'd be more than interested to learn more about this.'

Nalani and Kiran looked at each other and back at the tall blond man.

'I can show you if you want!' Kiran exclaimed, getting ready to Firebend.

Snape placed a hand on Kiran's shoulder, looking at both children with a warning glare.

'My brother means,' Nalani said, 'as much as we'd love to tell you about the Fire Nation, our parents' instructions were pretty clear on the matter.'

'Well then, I am looking forward to meeting your parents,' Mr Malfoy said. Then extending his hand the same way Draco had done, he added, 'It was a pleasure meeting you— ah…?'

'Nalani Onenga,' Nalani answered, again looking strangely at the man's hand. 'This is my brother, Kiran.'

Kiran smiled brightly, then he looked at the man's hand and said, 'Huh, what are you doing, Mr Malfoy?'

'He wants to shake hands,' said Snape, as if it were the most obvious things of all.

'I see…' said Kiran before extending his arm and shaking his hand vigorously in front of him. Nalani snickered and copied her brother, 'That's a _very_ strange custom,' she told Snape.

Snape sighed and rolled his eyes. Mr Malfoy was chuckling.

'You're supposed to _take_ my hand in _yours _and give it a light shake,' he explained.

Both kids looked at Snape in surprise, then at each other.

'So _that's_ what our neighbors keep trying to do!' Kiran exclaimed.

He then took Mr Malfoy's hand and shook it, Nalani following his lead, before being dragged away with her brother by an impatient teacher.

On their way to the Apothecary, Mr and Mrs Onenga caught up with them. From what Nalani had understood, her parents had opened a vault in Gringotts to they could exchange the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom money they had. When they were done shopping for Nalani's school materials, Snape left with a relieved look, and the family went exploring the rest of Diagon Alley. After they had bought some Floo Powder, they mostly wandered around, looking at the shops.

'Hey, Nalani!' Nalani heard someone shout. She turned around to see Draco waving at her. 'I remembered you said you were eleven today. Here, happy birthday,' he said, holding out a little package.

'Wow, thanks!' She said, taking the package eagerly. She opened it, while Draco smiled proudly at his father. The latter went over to Yue Qi, with an extended hand, and a smile that looked a bit creepy to Nalani.

'I'm Lucius Malfoy. This is my son Draco, and my wife Narcissa,' he said in an icily sweet voice.

'Yue Qi Onenga,' Yue Qi answered, and then continued 'My wife Huhana, my youngest Kiran, and my first born Nalani.'

'Draco told me you were the Fire Nation's Royal family?' Mr Malfoy asked with eagerness.

Yue Qi glared at Nalani who had opened her gift, and was now holding small box, containing a quill and a quill holder. The girl didn't even notice her father's glare, as she stared at the thin pink feather.

'It's a self-inking quill,' Draco said.

Nalani smiled. 'Thanks.'

'I'd be glad to stay and chat, but we should get going. We are expecting guests for a little birthday party, and it wouldn't do for the guest of honor to be absent,' Yue Qi said politely.

'Yes, of course,' said Mr Malfoy, 'It's quite understandable. I suppose we will see you on platform 9 ¾ then?' he finished, extending his hand once more, in a slightly more insistent manner.

'Oh, you're supposed to take his hand and give it a shake,' Kiran explained proudly to his father.

And so Yue Qi did as his son instructed, and the Royal family was on their way back home.

'Wasn't Mr Malfoy a bit creepy the second time around? He gave me the heeby jeebies,' Kiran told his father with a dramatic shiver.

'Yeah, I know what you mean,' Nalani said.

Her father gave them a stern look.

'This is exactly why I told you two not to mention anything about our ancestry or birthright or anything having to—'

Before Yue Qi could go on, a loud pop was heard in the backyard. Yue Qi took a deep calming breath and they all went in the back yard, where several other pops could be heard. A tall man, who looked almost exactly like Yue Qi was standing in the middle of the living room. He was also dressed in a fancy red and orange outfit. He looked like a younger version of Yue Qi, with curly hair that was held up in a bun. Next to him was standing a tall woman with beautiful silky black hair and slanted light brown eyes.

'Wow, Uncle Shen! Aunt Song Dee!' Nalani shouted, jumping in their arms. 'Glad you could make it.'

'I wouldn't miss your birthday for the world, Little Flame!' Shen answered, kissing her on the top of her head. Kiran was hugging his uncle fiercely.

'Now, now will you let me breathe a bit, Little Dynamite?' he asked, trying to loosen the boy's arms around his waist. As Kiran let go of his uncle, another loud pop got everyone's attention. A tall boy with curly black hair, and dark green eyes, who looked like he was fifteen, was holding his mother's hand. She was pretty and had wavy black hair falling on her shoulders. Another man Apparated next to them. He was shorter and had curly, short, black hair. The new comers bowed very low in front of the Royal family, but Yue Qi took the father by the shoulders and hugged him.

'Don't be ridiculous Lu. I owe you everything,' Yue Qi said, looking his friend in the eyes.

'I am loyal to my Fire Lord,' Lu answered.

'Hi, Kuzon,' said Nalani, waving shyly at the boy.

'Hi,' he answered, bowing in the Fire Nation way. 'Happy birthday! I see you got my necklace,' he said pointing at her neck.

Nalani turned red and looked away. At that moment, the doorbell rang. Huhana moved towards the front door and then turned towards the others, 'Don't forget, no Bending and no magic.'

**A.N.: In this chapter I'm mostly trying to present Nalani and Kiran's fascination at the discovery of a new culture. Oh and...  
**

**Disclaimers: HP belongs to JKR and ATLA belongs to Bryke, yay!**


	5. The Birthday Party

**A.N.: Sorry it took me so long to update, I've been quite busy with my comic lately (more info in my profile). Wow, are you guy really already making pairings? Just so you know, there's no pairings yet, well only one, but for a very specific reason. Other then that, I didn't pair anyone. **

**Harry Potter and the Fire Heiress by LokitaNaky**

**Chapter 5: The Birthday Party**

Huhana opened the front door to greet their immediate neighbors. A short balding man entered, carrying a big package wrapped in colorful paper. A little girl closely followed him. She looked about Nalani's age, but was one or two inches shorter. She had brown silky hair and square glasses. Behind them, a woman with short brown hair was waving enthusiastically.

'Oh, fantastic! I am so glad to see you, Huhana. How have you been doing?' she said as soon as the door opened.

She hugged both Huhana and Nalani tightly. 'Happy birthday Sweetie. So how old are you now?'

'I'm eleven, Mrs Atwater,' Nalani answered.

'My, my! Eleven only? Look at you. We could swear you just turned thirteen or fourteen,' Mrs Atwater said.

'My! Will you look at this place,' Mrs Atwater continued in a loud voice, looking at her surroundings. 'I swear, it looks much bigger then our house.'

'It's only the way we furnished the place, Bridget,' Yue Qi said politely.

'Paul, Bridget… I'd like you to meet Shen, my brother in law, and his wife Song

Dee,' Huhana said, waving an arm in the couple's direction.

'Well I can definit'ly guess he's your brother, Yu'Qi,' Mr Atwater said, 'He looks the spit o' you, he does.'

Mr and Mrs Atwater offered their hands as Shen and Song Dee gave a small bow.

'Right, silly me, I forgot,' Mrs Atwater said, before bowing in the Fire Nation's tradition.

Shen looked in his brother's direction with a raised eyebrow. The latter simply shrugged and introduced the Zhiu family.

'Loo Jew? What a peculiar name—' Mrs Atwater started, but she was cut short by the door bell.

Two families were standing in front of the house. A smiling, blond lady, with two gift bags in her hand, was standing between two red headed boys, and a very small strawberry blonde girl. One of the boys was Nalani's age while the other was Kiran's age. The little girl was around six years old. Next to them was an East Indian family. Both parents were carrying packages. Their eldest child was a fourteen-year-old boy, and the youngest was a thirteen-year-old girl.

'Come in, come in,' Huhana said, moving aside to let all of them in.

Yue Qi gestured them to the living room where they all sat.

'Oh! It's so big in here,' the blond lady exclaimed.

'You see, Paul? I'm not the only one to think so,' Mrs Atwater told her husband.

'So Dimitra, how is Keith doing these days?' she asked the blond lady.

'Why don't we send the children in the backyard while we wait for everyone to be there?' Huhana proposed.

The children did as they were told and sat either on the plastic chairs or on the floor. 'Hey, Nala! I heard my mom saying you were going to some boarding school in September,' said the eldest redhead. 'Is it true?'

'Yeah,' Nalani answered with a bright smile.

The Indian boy sat on one of the plastic chairs.

'So who's your friend then?' he said, nodding towards Kuzon.

'Oh, this is Kuzon,' Nalani said. 'Kuzon, these are my neighbors. This is Carl and Cindy Kasthurirangan. Emily Atwater. Steven, Henry, and over there Anya

McGill.'

'It's a pleasure to meet all of you,' Kuzon said, bowing to the group.

All the kids were now sitting on the floor.

'So what school are you going to in September?' Nalani asked Emily and.

'I'll be going to Lord Williams's school,' Emily said.

'Icknield Community College,' Steven said.

'Oh, great, we'll show you around then,' Cindy told Steven.

'Come on in kids! The Peels and Concordias just arrived,' Yue Qi said, peeking through the door. The kids all walked in towards the magically enlarged dining room. To the amusement of the Onengas and Zhius, the room only seemed slightly bigger to the Muggles, but they dismissed it as a illusion created by the way it was furnished or decorated. Nalani was having a very hard time trying not to laugh. She wasn't used to all this secrecy about magic and Bending. They were all sitting around the table when Nalani noticed that most guests were wearing green. More specifically, Mrs McGill, Mr and Mrs Peel, Mr Concordia, and Mr and Mrs Atwater, who were all sitting next to each other, were all dressed in green.

'It's like sitting at a feast in the Earth Kingdom,' Kuzon whispered to Nalani.

'I was just thinking the same thing,' Nalani whispered back.

'So, Guy,' Yue Qi said, turning towards Mr Concordia. 'I heard you found a new employer?'

'Oh, yeah! I'll be working as a subway operator now,' Mr Concordia replied.

The adults continued talking about their jobs, as the kids started talking about new toys or their favorite TV shows. Kuzon was very silent as the other kids talked about the newest show they had been watching all summer. He didn't think the other kids knew any of the shows he watched in the Earth Kingdom. Soon it was time for the cake and gifts.

'Well... you got my gift already I believe. I didn't get anything else—' Kuzon started.

'It's fine, really! I mean, I'm glad you were able to come at all,' Nalani said quickly.

After she opened all of her gifts, they all played with the new operation game she had gotten from the Concordias.

'YOU TOUCHED IT! I SAW YOU!' Henry yelled, pointing at the small frog

Nalani was holding between the tweezers.

'But it didn't buzz…' Emily said looking closely at the tweezers.

'I'm telling you, she touched the edge!' Henry repeated.

'Pff, you're just mad because you lost,' Nalani said, completely unable to hide her smile.

'Stop it, you're going to get caught,' Kuzon whispered in Nalani's ear.

She simply rolled her eyes, 'Oh, come on. There's not a chance they'll figure out what's going on,' she said. 'And anyway, Kiran's doing the same.'

'Nice excuse…' Kuzon said, rolling his eyes too.

'I don't want to play anymore,' Steven said.

'Me neither,' Nalani agreed, 'Winning all the time is getting boring.'

'Agreed,' Kiran said getting up and stretching.

'Oh! Show me some moves, Kiran,' Henry said excitedly.

Steven and Henry watched as Kiran showed them a few basic positions. The girls decided to play with Nalani's new Skip It while Kuzon and Carl stayed at the table and talked.

Night had fallen, and all the neighborhood kids were gone. No one had said much since the others had left. Kuzon would glance at Nalani every now and then, looking like he was trying to decide if he should talk or stay silent. Nalani's eyes were stubbornly fixed on the sky.

'I know we've all been avoiding the subject, but…' Kuzon started.

'Thank the Spirits, I thought you'd never speak,' Nalani said with obvious relief.

'All I've been hearing lately is how I shouldn't worry about the war. That it's none of my concern. Tell me everything you know,' she finished; now facing Kuzon.

'Huh…well…' Kuzon started slowly, 'I… What?' he finished, failing to find anything more intelligent to say. Nalani deflated and stared blankly at Kuzon.

'The war? Fire Nation, Earth kingdom… My crazy cousin… any of this ring a bell?' she said.

'Oh… right, sorry,' Kuzon said, shaking his head to clear it.

'What were you going to talk about?' Nalani asked.

'Huh, the war?' Kuzon answered.

Nalani rolled her eyes and started to twist a lock of her hair.

'Manish thinks you're still in the Yuansu Territories,' Kuzon said.

Nalani let out a breath of relief. Kuzon went on, 'Yeah, we were glad our plan worked after all. Now, if everything goes according to plan, he won't be able to find your family as long as you stay outside of the Yuansu Territories.'

'Unless… he comes over here… right?' she asked.

Kuzon stayed silent for an instant. 'I don't know…' he finally answered.

Nalani hugged her knees to her chest. She wanted to go home, she wanted everything to be back to normal. Including Manish. She hadn't known him before his break down, but she had heard what had happened and why. After several seconds of silence, she realized Kuzon was patting her shoulder very lightly. She looked at him, trying not to laugh.

'Please tell me you're not going to say "there, there,"' she said.

'Sorry… I—I don't know what to do. You're still royalty from where I stand, and—'

'Yeah, yeah, status and what-not… This isn't the Royal Palace if you haven't noticed. And I mean, your family saved mine, and not to mention… well…'

Nalani trailed off. 'How come you didn't come to Hogwarts too?' she asked Kuzon suddenly.

'General Li said it'd be too suspicious if we left the Territories too,' he answered.

'Hey… They put a silencing charm on the door,' Kiran said, walking away from the back door, 'What do you think is going on?'

Nalani and Kuzon looked at each other and then at Kiran.

'Right, stupid question, sorry,' Kiran said sitting next to them. 'When's the Avatar supposed to be revealed anyway?' he asked.

'You'd know if you'd actually study your history,' Nalani said.

'I'm just a kid, what's history important for at my age?' Kiran challenged.

'You'll be 10 in a few weeks, Prince Kiran, you should start acting less like a foolish child and more like a Prince,' Kuzon said, but quickly apologized, 'I'm sorry, it's not my place to—'

'Like it or not, Kiran, Kuzon is right,' Nalani interrupted.

Kiran shrugged and went to knock on the door. Lu was the one who opened the door.

'Come on, son. We should leave now,' he told Kuzon.

The rest of the summer went by quickly and without incidents. They had another party for Kiran near the end of August, only this time the Zhius couldn't come. Nalani had started looking at some of her schoolbooks. After spending a day with Snape, she was worried what the other teachers would be like. _Better safe then sorry,_ she thought. Soon enough, August had come and gone, and it was time to go to school.


	6. The Boy Who Lived

**AN: Thanks to everyone for the nice reviews. I'm very touch to hear (or read) that you think I write well. I find it a lot harder to show what's in my head by writing it than by drawing it… which I suppose, is pretty normal… Anyway, thanks a lot, to answer your questions: Yes the room was magically enlarged, that was the whole point to my little hints. Oh by the way… brownie points to whoever can find the Montreal related jokes in the previous and current chapters… unless if you're a Montrealer… ****in which case I'm sure you peed your pants laughing. Also, I really like hearing those awesome theories you have about what's going to happen. Some are spot on, and others are way off, but it's a lot of fun.**

**But enough of this, back to the story!**

**Harry Potter and the Fire Heiress by LokitaNaky**

**Chapter 6 : The Boy Who Lived**

Today was the day. Nalani was off to Hogwarts. She packed and unpacked her trunk ten times before she was sure she had everything she needed. As they got out of their house, they saw that half the neighborhood was on their doorstep. There seemed to be a lot of shouting in the McGill household.

'What's going on?' Yue Qi asked Mrs Atwater, who was standing in her front yard watching the McGill's house.

'Didn't you hear? Oh, but I suppose you were busy preparing, of course. Mr McGill found out Mrs McGill had been having an affair with Mr Concordia. He caught them at the Square Victoria Restaurant,' Mrs Atwater said excitedly. That woman loved gossiping more than anything.

When they arrived at King's Cross station, Huhana hugged her daughter so tightly Nalani thought her lungs would implode.

She tapped on her mother's shoulder. 'Mother… air… MOM,' Nalani gasped.

'Your hair looks perfect Honey,' her mother said, without loosening her grip.

'No, Love, I think she needs _air_… to breathe!' Yue Qi said with a chuckle, gently pulling his wife away from his asphyxiated daughter.

'Mother, I know you're worried—'

'And scared, don't forget scared!' Kiran interrupted.

'But I'll be fine, really,' Nalani continued, ignoring her brother.

'It's true, Love. She'll be absolutely safe,' Yue Qi said, squeezing Huhana's shoulder reassuringly.

'Write everyday!' Huhana bursted.

'Every week,' Yue Qi corrected.

'Be polite,' Huhana continued, 'at all times and with everyone. Don't start fights, listen to your Masters and please stay out of trouble.'

'Mother, I would never, ever get in trouble or misbehave, you know that,'

Nalani said, putting on her sweetest, most angelic smile.

A look of panic crossed Huhana's widened eyes and she turned to her husband,

'Is it too late to change our minds?' she asked.

Yue Qi gestured to let him handle it and looked sternly at Nalani.

'We're serious Nalani. Don't let your temper get the best of you,' he said.

'I won't,' Nalani said, trying not to roll her eyes.

'Anyway,' she continued, 'I should go before the train leaves… Mother would be too happy if it left without me.'

Nalani started walking away before her parents could reply.

'Bye, see you in winter!' she said, waving them good-bye, before hurrying in the train. All the compartments looked full. She spotted the raven-haired boy named Harry near the end of the train. He was desperately trying to get his cart on board. She jogged towards him.

'Having troubles?' she asked him.

'Oh, hi! Yeah, it's pretty heavy,' he answered, before the trunk dropped on his foot. Nalani looked at her own trunk with a sigh. She should have asked her parents to come and help her get it on the train. She was in such a hurry to get away from their insinuations. If only she was an Earthbender, that could come in handy.

'Want a hand?' It was a tall redheaded boy. He had blue eyes, very fair skin and freckles all over.

'Yes, please,' Harry said.

'That would be nice,' Nalani added.

The other boy turned around and called, 'Oy, Fred! C'mere and help!' Another boy who looked exactly like the first came to help them get their trunk in the car. Nalani had three cousins who were identical triplets, so her first reflex was to look for tiny details that could help distinguish the two boys. She went with what was easiest in her mind, the freckles, since freckles were so new to her. The first one that had talked to them had a slightly darker patch of freckles between his right eye and nose, while the other one, Fred, had two on his left cheek.

'Thanks,' Harry and Nalani said.

One of the twins pointed at Harry's forehead asking what it was. Before Harry could answer the two boys spoke again. 'Blimey, are you—?' one said.

'He is. Aren't you?' the other one asked. Nalani had no idea what was going on. Apparently the two boys knew who Harry was because of some scar on his forehead. The boys gawped at Harry until a woman, who probably was their mother, called them. Harry sighed in relief and sat down. She sat down next to him and they both listened to the conversation the twins were having with their family. The twins sounded like the mischievous type Nalani liked to hang around.

'So, huh, you're famous?' she asked.

'Yeah, apparently I am,' he said, a slight blush creeping up his cheeks.

'Sweet,' Nalani said.

After another minute the train started moving. Harry was watching the little redheaded girl running after the train.

'Are you nervous? 'Cause I'm terrified!' she told him.

'Yes, I'm really nervous,' he said. 'But it can't be worse then what I'm leaving behind,' he added more quietly.

'Why's that?' she asked.

Before he could answer, the door of the compartment slid open and the youngest boy of the redheaded family came in. He had a black mark on his nose and his clothes were too short, or maybe he was too long. They invited him to sit with them, since apparently everywhere else was full. The twins came back only a moment after. They talked about going to see a giant tarantula. Nalani shuddered at the thought.

'Oh, by the way,' one of the twins said, 'we didn't introduce ourselves, I believe.

Fred and George Weasley. And this is our brother Ron.' They looked at Nalani expectantly.

'Oh, wow, right! I'm Nalani Onenga,' she answered, getting up and bowing to the room in general. They all looked at her like she had just grown a second head. She stood there a few seconds, and then, seeing they wouldn't stop staring until she explained, she sighed. 'Right, I'm from the Fire Nation. That's how we introduce ourselves or else it's considered rude… I keep forgetting…'

Everyone's eyes went wide, except Harry, who looked as if she had just spoken the old language. Feeling very self-conscious, she sat back down and waited for someone to say something. Harry looked as if he was glad the attention wasn't on him.

'You're a Bender?' the twin named George asked.

'A Firebender?' Fred added.

'A real _live_ Firebender?' their little brother completed.

She turned to Harry, almost expecting him to add something else, but he simply shrugged. He obviously had no idea what a Bender was, let alone a Firebender. After a short moment of silence, Fred spoke.

'So that's why you're wearing that weird outfit,' he said.

'And why you have that accent,' George completed.

'Can you show us a trick?' Fred said expectantly.

'Can you light a fire?' George continued.

'Can you light someone on fire?' Fred asked.

'Can you light Ron on fire?' George finished.

'Hey!' Ron protested.

Nalani smiled and thought of something a little more fancy than a simple quick flame to impress them. So she did a small ring of fire that she made spin around her finger, one after the other. Everyone in the compartment was in awe. She smiled proudly, she had only done one of the simplest tricks she knew, but they didn't know that.

'You have to show us some more tricks later,' George said.

'But for now we're off,' Fred finished.

'Bye,' said Ron, Harry and Nalani.

Ron quickly looked at both kids in front of him with red ears. He looked like he was trying to decide what to tell them. Finally he blurted out rapidly to both of them. 'That was wicked! Are you really Harry Potter?'

Harry nodded. Then they had what Nalani thought was the most uncomfortable exchange, where Harry showed Ron his scar and Ron stared in awe. Then Harry asked Ron if all his family were wizards, and after Ron answered, he turned towards Nalani. 'And you?' he asked.

'I'd say half are wizards and half are crazy,' Nalani answered in a snort. She had the strange feeling that both boys found her, as well as each other, very interesting. On her side though, she didn't know what to think of either of them. From what she could tell, Harry hadn't even know about magic until very recently, and knew nothing about Bending, while Ron knew nothing about what Wizards here called Muggles. She didn't know how to interact with them. What could she say, and what was better left out. But as much as she wanted to interact with these kids, she had no idea how to do so. And as far as she was concerned, these kids weren't normal. They coexisted in one world without knowing anything about one another.

'Most members of my family are Magical as well as Benders. Of course there are a few who are born without the gift, but it's true in every family,' she said.

'You mean Squibs?' Ron asked.

'What? Squids? Is that some sort of sushi?' Nalani asked.

'You don't know what Squibs are? They're non-magical people born into

Wizarding families,' Ron explained.

'What about Muggles?' Nalani asked.

'They don't have any magic at all, they're not from magical families or anything,' said Ron.

'It's all the same for us in the Yuansu Territories, you're either magical or you're not, end of the line,' Nalani said, shaking her head.

Ron looked at her in surprise. 'Then what do you do with your Squibs? Send them to Muggle families?'

At this, Harry's eyes widened.

'What? No… We don't segregate our world into Magical and Non-magical. We all live together, the Mhaih dahksyuhge and the Benders,' Nalani said, like it was the most logic of things.

'The what?' Ron asked.

'That's what we call Muggles and Squids.'

'Squibs!'

'It means "not special,"' she explained. 'Anyway, we all live together, gaining from each other's forces.'

'It's so weird,' said Ron.

'It sounds brilliant!' said Harry with excitement in his eyes.

Ron pulled out an ugly looking, fat, grey rat from his pocket, and they started talking about their families.

'What's your family like, Harry? You mentioned nothing could be worse than what you came from,' Nalani asked Harry.

'I don't think I'd exaggerate if I said that they hate me. They lied to me about everything I was because they hate magic, you see,' Harry said.

'What about you,' asked Ron. 'I think you mentioned half were crazy?'

'Yeah,' Nalani answered, sinking in her seat, 'One member of my family pretty much comes from a gene pool that's predestined to lose a few screws, you know?'

There was a short silence. Nalani and Harry both looked at Ron. As it turned out, Ron had an enormous family. It reminded Nalani of her late uncle's family. She told them that her widowed aunt had the triplet boys, about Nalani's age, four daughters, all of them older than Nalani, and three young sons between three and six. If anything happened to her and Kiran, there were still a lot of kids eligible for the Fire Nation throne, she thought. She was pulled out of her thoughts when Ron gasped.

'What?' both Nalani and Harry said.

'You said You-Know-Who's name!' Ron told Harry. 'I'd have thought you, of all people –'

Harry stumbled an answer saying he had a lot to learn, and Nalani thought she probably did too as she asked, 'Who's name did what?'

Harry explained what had happened to his parents and him ten years ago. Nalani was a bit shocked, but didn't let it show. 'Crazy guy, hungry for power, wanting to take over the world... nothing new there. But why did he try to kill you? He's evil, I get it… but what's his motive? '

Harry shrugged. 'No one told me…'

A woman pushing a trolley of sweets slid their door open. 'Anything off the trolley, dears?' she asked.

Nalani and Harry both got to their feet while Ron muttered something Nalani didn't catch. Nalani took a few sweets. She didn't know any of them, and was generally picky with foreign food, so she took a few things that sounded appealing. Harry on the other hand, took everything he could carry. He dropped it between Nalani and him and started to eat a pumpkin pasty. Ron was looking at their piles of candy with envy.

'Here,' Nalani said, throwing a licorice wand at Ron.

'Thanks,' said Ron, 'Say, could you tell us a bit more about the Fire Nation?' said Ron.

'That could take forever, just tell me what you want to know,' she said with a chuckle.

'Well, I'd sure like to know what the Fire Nation and Firebenders are,' Harry asked with a blush. Ron proudly answered for Nalani.

'There's a part of the world where wizards can actually manipulate the elements. We call them Elementals, but they call themselves Benders. There are four regions. The Fire Nation, where people, like Nalani here, manipulate fire, and water, earth and air territories, where each can manipulate the element corresponding to their territory,' he explained with pride in his voice.

Nalani took over from there. 'The Earth Kingdom for Earthbenders. The Air Temples for Airbenders and the Water Tribes for Waterbenders. And then, there's the Avatar. The Avatar is the most powerful Bender. He or she can bend all four elements, and has to keep the balance in our world. He or she is reborn every time in a different nation, according to a pattern: Fire, Air, Water and Earth. After the Great War, people from different territories started getting married. Like my mother, she's from the Water Tribe. Sometimes, the children that are born from mixed benders will have bending abilities from both parents. But that's rare, and no one was ever capable of giving birth to a second Avatar. Even three bending abilities from a mixed child never happened yet. Two seems to be the maximum, and both parents have to be pureblood wizards too. The strangest case I've heard, was a kid, who had an Airbender for father and Firebender for mother, and turned out to be an Earthbender. Apparently, one of his grandparents was an Earthbender.'

She had the boys' complete attention. Ron looked a bit puzzled halfway through her speech. When he spoke, he seemed almost uncertain. 'Is blood status important in the Elemental Territories?'

'I know it is in Royalty. The Fire Lord, Earth King, and Water Chief all have to be purebloods. In everything else though, it couldn't be less important. We have school together with non-magical people. We don't separate them like you guys do here,' said Nalani.

'Wow, sounds wicked!' exclaimed Ron.

Nalani took out a book from the small carry-on bag she had with her. It was a potion book. After meeting the Potions professor, she thought it would be best to excel in his class. Harry shared some of his sweets with Ron.

'Have any of you started reading your schoolbooks yet?'

'Why would I read schoolbooks before school even starts? We'll have plenty of homework once we get there,' Ron said, looking scandalized.

'Well, if the teacher that took us to Diagon Alley is any indication of the type of teachers we'll get, I'd recommend you read at least the first chapter. But I read the whole potion book… just for safe measures,' Nalani replied dramatically.

'Potions? I heard Fred and George talk about the Potions' prof once. Scary bloke, I recon,' Ron confirmed.

Nalani nodded, 'Yeah, well, I tried to memorize as much as possible, but my brain seems to only absorb random information.' She flipped a few pages in the book. 'Here, I remember that… if you mix in some powder of whatever, to something of wormwood, you get this super powerful sleeping potion that they call "Draught of the Living Death."' She said the last part dramatically, wiggling her fingers, which made Harry and Ron laugh. She went on. 'Oh, and another random thing I remembered. A thing called: Bezoar. That's a stone in the stomach of a goat that apparently cures most poisons. How gross is that?' she said with a shudder.

'Oh, and here, something I found really interesting was that, what you guys call monkshood, or wolfsbane here, we call it the "dragon's trap" in the Fire Nation,' She said pointing at the drawing of a strange looking plant. 'We actually use it to brew cures for dragons, when they get the Eastern fever,' she said.

'You really think the professors will ask questions on the first day?' asked Harry.

'Better safe than sorry, no?' Nalani pointed out. She continued, 'There's actually quite a few plants we also happen to have in our Territories.'

They talked about plants and potions while they ate the sweets, and quickly the conversation changed to Dumbledore and other well-known wizards, when Harry got a Dumbledore card.

'I got someone called Helga Hufflepuff?' Nalani said, pulling out a card out of her chocolate frog box.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door and it turned out to be a boy who was looking for a toad. _Who brings a toad at school?_ Nalani wondered. Was he really surprised to have lost it? Ron said aloud what Nalani had thought quietly. 'Don't know why he's bothered. If I'd brought a toad, I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk.'

Nalani looked at the sleeping rat. She normally thought rats were sort of cute, but that one was an ugly fellow. Ron took out his wand to try and turn the rat yellow; like he told them he had tried the previous day. His wand looked like it had seen better days. Before he could do anything though, the door slid open again. It was the same boy and next to him was a girl who Nalani thought should probably do something about her hair. It was… _out of control_ was probably the word Nalani would employ. Nalani had very thick and very curly hair, so she knew all about having difficult hair, but that girl's hair just looked impossible.

'Have you seen a toad? Neville here lost his,' she said in a bossy voice, showing her large front teeth. Ron answered but she didn't listen. She was more interested in seeing him do magic. Something told Nalani that she probably only wanted Ron to fail to show off her own abilities. Ron cleared his throat. 'Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid, fat rat yellow.'

Nalani tried not to laugh at the silly incantation. If that spell worked, she'd go dance with a skunk-bear. As she suspected, it didn't work. And the girl started ranting on the spells she tried and how it did work for her, and also about her non-magical family and books she read. Nalani sort of zoned out before the girl was done talking. She didn't hear the girl's name, but she heard Harry and Ron say theirs. So she said hers. The girl barely acknowledged her, as she was busy telling Harry all the books he was in, until she noticed Nalani's outfit.

'Why, you're from the Fire Nation. I've read a few books about Elementals. Judging by the colors of your clothes, I'd say you're from a wealthy family,' the girl said.

Nalani nodded. How many books exactly had that girl read? She must have been reading some obscure foreign books to have read about the significance of the colors of clothes.

'Wealthy family? Really?' asked Ron. But he was cut short by the girl's next question.

'Can you firebend? Do you think you could teach me? I tried finding a book that explains how to firebend, but I couldn't find any –'

'That's because, you have to be a Firebender to firebend. It's not something you learn from books, you just do it and learn to control and master it. Like magic. And no, I couldn't teach you,' Nalani said with an annoyed tone.

'Oh, anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You should change, I expect we'll be there soon,' she said with a little huff, and she left with the boy named Neville.

'Is she for real?' Nalani asked with wide eyes.

'Well, whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it,' Ron said with a frown.

'What house are your brothers in?' Harry asked Ron. From what she understood which house was good or bad varied from family to family. From hearing what Ron had to say, being in Ravenclaw was bad, but Slytherin was worse. From Draco's perspective though, Hufflepuff was the worse you could end up in, while Slytherin was the best. They started talking about Quidditch. Harry and Nalani found out it was a game played on broomsticks. Before they could find out more though, the door slid open again.


	7. Friends and Foes

**A.N.: I am SO SO SO very sorry! You have no idea how bad I feel. I really wanted to update. but so many things came up after my move... I even stopped updating my web comic. And when I was finally done with chapter 7 (I had the whole thing written on paper and then I lost the papers, so I rewrote it on my computer from scratch) my beta reader disappeared. So a thousand thanks to Fred, for taking the task of beta reading on his shoulders. So if I can't manage to accio my Beta reader, he might have to take up the job for good. Hopefully he likes it.**

**So I'm going to tell you right away... there's a flash back in this chapter, and it won't be a rare occurrence, while next time it won't be place in such an idd position in the story. And you'll be happy to learn that chapter 8 will NOT take 6 months to come. I'm halfway through the thing. And now, because you'll never forgive me if my A.N. is longer than the chapter, let us continue the adventure! (Man I gotta stop updating when I'm half asleep!)**

**Harry Potter and the Fire Heiress by LokitaNaky**

**Chapter 7 : Friends and Foes**

Draco was standing between two big, stupid looking boys, in the doorway. He looked straight at Harry and ignored Nalani, who was waving at him, which irritated her.

'Hi Draco?' she said.

He didn't answer. He looked very interested in Harry though. He presented himself and his two "body guards" to Harry, who didn't look sure if he liked the boy or not. Ron tried to hide a laugh when Draco said his name, which brought only insults on him. She looked at Draco with a frown; he was so different than when she met him at Diagon Alley, and he hadn't been exactly friendly to Harry in the clothing shop.

'You should be careful Potter, or you'll have the same fate as your parents,' Draco told Harry.

Harry's face hardened and Ron's and Nalani's eyes widened. Nalani got up to face Draco. She was taller than him, and shorter than the two gorillas by only two or three inches.

'You should come with us, Nalani. I don't suppose you want to associate with these people, right?' Draco said.

Nalani raised her eyebrows and smiled sweetly at the blond boy. 'Oh, wow!' she said in a pleasant tone, 'So _now_ you see me?' She stared at him for a few seconds with the same sweet smile plastered on her face then added, 'Do tell, Draco, what sort of people should I associate with?'

Before Draco could answer she continued, 'Arrogant daddy's little boy who speak horrible words without even understanding the meaning of them? Well, please forgive me if I choose _not_ to,' she finished, still with the sweet smile and pleasant tone.

Draco stared at her in disbelief. He then regained his composure and sneered.

'Some Royalty member you are,' he spat, 'you're willing to be seen around the likes of these lowlifes?'

'My grandfather raised me to respect other people no matter their social status. Respect is something you should give to everyone until they've proven themselves unworthy of such a thing. Right now, I'm not sure in which category to put you,' Nalani replied in a dry tone.

Draco scowled at her, and was about to comment when Nalani covered her clenched fists in flames.

'You have three seconds to get out of here!' stated Nalani.

The only thing she heard after that was a scream and the boys were running off. Not a second after they left, the girl with bushy hair came back in, asking what had happened.

'You shouldn't use your special abilities to bully others, you know,' the girl said.

'Don't tell me what to do,' Nalani snapped.

'Yeah, you should have heard what he said to Harry!' said Ron.

'Well, it's still no reason to start fighting. You'll get in trouble before we even get to Hogwarts,' the girl retorted, 'Speaking of which, we'll be there soon, you should get into your school robes.'

'Sure thing captain!' Nalani answered sarcastically.

'Oy, you seem to think you're pretty good at magic, don't you?' Ron said.

'As I said, the spells I tried did work for me, which is more than you can say,' the girl said.

'Well why don't you show us something then?' Nalani inquired.

The girl looked at them all and stopped on Harry. She pointed her wand on him, and said: 'Reparo!' The tape that had been holding his glasses together vanished, and they looked as good as new. The girl glared at her and left with a huff. Nalani rolled her eyes and turned to face the boys.

'Show off…' she said, grabbing her robes from her bag and slipping it over her head.

'So…' Ron started, 'you and Malfoy… Good mates I gathered? Until just now I guess, 'cause of the whole…' Ron trailed off.

'Well, not exactly friends, we barely know each other, really,' Nalani explained.

'I mean I was hoping it'd go that way when I met him at Diagon Alley. He seemed decent… I suppose.'

'Malfoy? Decent? From what my father says, the Malfoys are nothing but bad news. They were on the dark side, you see, back during the war. Said they were forced and all, but my dad recons they wouldn't hesitate a second to go back if You-Know-Who came back. They're well into that whole Dark Arts stuff,' Ron said.

'Wow, I see,' Nalani said, pressing her nose against the window to try and see through the darkening landscape. After a short moment of silence Ron spoke.

'So, huh, if you took our side, I recon it means you'd rather be friends with us?'

'I'm not taking sides, I'm just…' Nalani trailed off, 'by Avatar Aang's bald head, the guy spoke like he owned the world.'

'Thinks he does, from what I heard,' Ron replied.

'Well, even back in Diagon Alley, he wasn't all that nice,' said Harry.

Nalani shrugged shyly in response, 'He was nice to me...'

When they got off the train, the giant, Hagrid, was calling the first years. They followed him to a lakeshore, where they could see the castle on the other side of the lake. They all got into little boats in groups of four. A black boy followed Ron, Harry and Nalani into their boat. They crossed most of the lake in silence and awe, staring at the castle. Somewhere in mid-travel, Nalani took a peak into the water, lighting a flame above it to see if there were any fishes or other underwater creatures. The other boy gasped when Nalani produced a flame, then his eyes grew wide. When Nalani looked back at the water, she saw a big bulge of water close to where she was holding the flame. She stopped the fire and removed her hand at once.

'My brothers told me there's a giant squid in the lake,' said Ron.

The other three nodded with a mixture of fear and awe. The boats finally entered an opening in the cliff, and finally came to a stop in a small harbor. At last, they entered the castle, following a tall witch who went by the name of Professor McGonagall inside the castle. Nalani had never seen something like this. The architecture on its own was completely different from anything she'd ever seen in her world. It was breathtaking. The inside was as impressive as the outside. When they entered the Great Hall, Nalani looked at the ceiling. It looked simply amazing. It made her think of the calendar in Wong Shi Tong's Library. She had heard stories about the ceiling imitating the sky at any given date throughout history. Although she had to admit, this enchantment was much more impressive. It looked as thought there was no ceiling at all, just the sky melting into the Great Hall. Nalani had heard Ron's speculations about the sorting and was getting nervous as all the first years were lined up in front of every one. The Deputy Headmistress placed a pile of dirty cloth on a stool. Not too long after the pile started singing, and that's when Nalani realized it was in fact a very old and very worn-out hat. After the song, the professor started calling the first years in alphabetical order. Nalani looked at the kids around her. Some of them looked more nervous than others, like the bushy-haired girl, who looked like she was going to have a panic attack.

'Granger, Hermione,' McGonnagal called.

Hermione's breathing quickened and she slowly made her way to the stool, trying to keep her calm.

'Gryffindor,' the hat said after a few seconds.

Nalani glanced at Ron who groaned in annoyance. A few more students got sorted, including Draco, whom the hat sorted immediately in Slytherin. The boy strutted happily to the Slytherin table, smirking at Harry and Nalani. Soon after, it was Nalani's turn, and McGonnagal placed the hat on her head.

'Now, now! What do we have here? An Elemental,' said a voice in Nalani's head,

'It's been a while since I've seen one in this school. Your elements are Fire and Water, interesting combo.'

_I'm a _Firebender_,_ Nalani thought, a bit frustrated.

'I see,' the hat said in a thoughtful voice, 'you want to prove yourself as a great and powerful Firebender. You seek vengeance for your father and grandfather.'

_My father should be the rightful Heir to the Fire Nation's throne,_Nalani thought with bitterness, _and my grandfather should be alive and ruling!_

'That's a lot of anger for such a young person. I know the Fire Nation's History is very dark. The people of the Fire Nation are very ambitious, perhaps I should put you in Slytherin…' the hat trailed off.

_What? Why? Yeah, sure, we have a dark History, my forefathers made a lot of mistakes and were blinded by their closed mindedness, but the key is to not repeat the past mistakes. My cousin is repeating every single one of them, but I'm not like him. I just want to restore my family's honor. _

'And you think being in Slytherin would keep you from doing that?' the hat asked her.

_I guess not… I guess which house I'm in won't change what I am… but it will change the opinion others will have of me. I guess I'll have to live with the label of a crazy, evil Fire breather, like the rest of my people._

Nalani thought of the Fire Nation and what they'd left behind, and why they'd left it behind.

- _Fire Nation, March 1988 (year of the Dog, Zhi Yuan Era, 258 ASC (after Sozin's Comet) on the Fire Nation calendar)_ -

Nalani is running away from an older little boy, shrieking loudly.

'This one's extra gooey!' shouted the boy while dangling a fat worm at the end of a stick.

'Aaaaaaaah! Aunt Ling, aunt Ling, tell him to stop!' Nalani shrieked, while zigzagging in every direction to avoid the worm. She stopped, and so did the other boy. She placed her hands in front of her and got in attack position.

'Alright Sang!' she said, eyeing the worm nervously, 'you drop the worm, or I'll burn your hair off.'

'If you shoot, I'll throw that worm in your hair!' said Sang.

They were both still when a tall woman entered the gardens. Nalani ran and hid behind her.

'Aunt Ling! Sang wants to throw a worm in my hair!' Nalani whined. She looked up to her aunt and pouted.

Ling looked at the boy sternly.

'Well she wanted to burn my hair off!' Sang protested.

Ling looked back at Nalani, who took an offended expression.

'I would never do that, Aunt Ling,' she said, almost batting her eyelashes.

Ling sighed before turning to Sang.

'Son, what did I tell you about putting worms in your cousin's hair?' she said exasperated.

'You said it's not the proper behavior of a Prince living in the Royal Palace,' Sang replied monotonously, his eyes to the ground where the worm now was, wriggling away from the stick it had been on.

Nalani look at him triumphantly from behind his mother's back, and pulled her tongue out at him.

'The same goes for your sisters young man, run along now,' Ling finished.

With a last glare in his cousin's direction, Sang left.

'Princess Nalani, I need you to deliver this to Fire Lord Yue Qi. It's from the Royal guard's investigation quarters,' Ling told Nalani, handing her a thin scroll tied with the Royal guard's ribbon.

Nalani bowed to her aunt before taking the scroll and heading towards the throne's room. She ran up until the corridor leading to the throne's room, where she stopped, tried to flatten any visible wrinkles on her dress as well as her hair, and walked up to the main door. She gave it a firm knock.

' You may come in,' said a voice from inside.

Nalani entered. The room was big and vast. At the end of it was the Fire Lord's throne blocked by a constant wall of fire behind which Yue Qi sat. Nalani stopped in front of her father's throne, right before reaching the steps. She got on her knees and bowed low, before getting up and climbing the steps.

'Princess Ling needed me to give you this, Father,' Nalani said, handing the scroll to her father.

'Ah, perfect,' Yue Qi said, 'Thank you Princess Nalani.'

As the Fire Lord started reading the scroll, Nalani tried to peak over his shoulder.

…_as to continue the investigation on the late Fire Lord Akiro's murder, it is necessary that we…_

It was all Nalani had time to read before her father looked pointedly at her.

'Princess? You are dismissed,' he said.

Nalani reluctantly walked out of the throne's room. She walked straight to the gardens where she knew her big cousin, Mali, would be.

'You were right,' she stated as soon as she reached Mali, 'Fire Lord Akiro was murdered.'

'I thought it was obvious that no one could win an Agni Kai against Fire Lord Akiro,' Mali said.

'Well I know Agni Kais are usually public, but, what do you think happened?' Nalani asked.

'I think it was the killing curse… Avada Kedavra. And then the coward burned Fire Lord Akiro to make it look like he had won an Agni Kai,' said Mali.

'You think they have suspects?' Nalani asked.

'I don't know,' Mali answered, 'but I have an idea who might. Come with me.'

Mali dragged Nalani across the palace. They reached a tall wooden door on which the symbol of the Fire Nation's royal army was written. Mali pressed her ear against the door.

'If your father received news about this, they're probably talking about it right now,' she whispered.

They heard hushed conversations coming from down the hall. Nalani slipped her hand in her cousin's pocket and took the girl's wand out.

'Alohomora,' she whispered. The door clicked and opened slightly. Nalani looked at her cousin with a proud smirk. 'Come on,' she said, dragging her cousin inside, and hiding in one of the wardrobes.

'You are so _bad_,' Mali said, smiling, 'look at you… the student surpasses the master. Don't ever tell your father I teach you that stuff. He'll have my head for it!'

'Don't worry, if he learns about this, he'll have my head first,' Nalani replied.

They heard steps approaching the room, the door opened and Fire Lord Yue Qi and his brothers Zei and Shen entered.

'Why do they need to see us?' Zei asked.

'They want to investigate our wands and question us,' Yue Qi answered, looking somber.

'Interrogate you mean. This is ridiculous,' Shen said.

'As long as the killer isn't found, even _my _power is limited,' said Yue Qi.

'You've been _crowned_, Yue Qi, what can they do?' Shen asked in disbelief.

'I was crowned after our father was murdered. As it is now, I'm not above the law,' said Yue Qi.

'He's right, they can revoke his crown if they see fit,' Zei added.

Shen, Zei and Yue Qi sat and waited.

'I can't believe that they checked every gifted-one's wands in the palace, and couldn't find the killer. What if it was someone from outside?' Shen said.

'Whoever did it is already lucky to have sneaked past the internal security. It simply couldn't have been an outsider,' Zei stated.

'The murderer used another wand,' Yue Qi said.

'And if he's good enough to have pulled a stunt like that, he probably destroyed the spare wand,' Zei added.

The door opened, a man in formal Fire Nation Army uniform entered and bowed to the Fire Lord and the Princes.

'Fire Lord Yue Qi, Prince Zei, Prince Shen… thank you for meeting me,' the man said.

Yue Qi sighed and got up, his two brothers following.

'Hum… May I ask, my Lord… did you unlock the door?' he asked nervously.

'No it was open upon our arrival,' Yue Qi answered dryly.

Mali and Nalani looked at each other in the wardrobe.

'I'm pretty sure I locked it before leaving, my Lord,' the man insisted.

Yue Qi sighed again, but this time it wasn't directed at the man in uniform.

'Would you please wait outside Admiral Chingis, there's something I need to take care of before our interrogation,' he told the man.

When the Admiral was gone, Yue Qi turned around and looked at the wardrobe in which Nalani and Mali had been hiding.

'I know you're hiding in there, Nalani. If you don't want to be in more trouble than you're already in, get out this instant,' Yue Qi said in a hard voice.

'You too Mali,' Zei added as the wardrobe's door slowly opened.

Nalani and Mali got out of the wardrobe looking ashamed. They didn't dare raise their eyes from the floor. Yue Qi walked up to Nalani and grabbed her by the arm, dragging her out of the Admiral's office and into the corridor.

'You will stay in your room until I am done with this interrogation, and then we will discuss your punishment,' Yue Qi said, walking quickly down the corridor, still dragging a very ashamed and red Nalani.

'You know not to sneak in the Palace like a thief, especially in these times. Not only is it dangerous… we'll finish this discussion later.'

A serving girl was walking in their direction, Yue Qi waved at her and handed her Nalani.

'Bring her to her chambers and make sure she stays there,' he said, before turning around and returning to the Admiral's office.

_- Present_

'Usually, most would ask me to change my mind, to send them in another House,' the hat said.

_Will it make difference?_ Nalani wondered.

'Perhaps,' answered the hat, 'but I think you'll do just fine. GRYFFINDOR.'

**A.N.: Hope you enjoyed it. I have, in my many many piles of drawings, a few illustrations of the story (one for each chapter). I'd like to know if any of you would be interested in checking them out. If the demand is high enough i'll post them on my Deviantart account (where I already posted the cover illustration to this fanfic) and post the link here in the Author's notes, as well as a link to my web-comic. So just let me know.**


	8. New experiences sneak peak  news

Chapter 8: New experiences

'GRYFFINDOR!' the hat shouted.

It took a second or two for Nalani to register that the hat had said Gryffindor and not Slytherin. She let out a small, relieved giggle and hopped off the stool, walking straight to the Gryffindor table. She spotted the twins and went to sit next to them. Now it was Harry's turn to be sorted. When Professor McGonagall called his name, the entire Hall broke into whispers.

'Look, it's really him!' said a girl, close to Nalani.

'Can you see his scar?' asked the boy next to her.

(…)

'And now, I would like to introduce Master Hinu, from the Fire Nation, in the Elemental Territories. Although most of you won't have the pleasure to study under his care, Master Hinu is a skilled Firebending master.'

An old man with whitening hair tied in a bun and tiny, slanted, light brown eyes got up and bowed the Fire Nation way, in the general direction of the room.

Dumbledore continued, 'He is also very skilled in the art of meditation and discipline. So if any of you feel that the load of homework is too much to bear, please, pay him a visit. He will have a lot of free time, so it will be his pleasure to help you,' at this, Master Hinu winked at the crowd, a small smile playing on his lips, before sitting back down.

'And now,' Dumbledore finished, 'On more serious matters (insert speech here XD…)

**A.N.: Hum… I'm sorry? It's a sneak peak of chapter 8 to be replaced with the REAL chapter 8… eventually… I feel really bad, but I have AN EXCELLENT reason for doing this horrible unforgivable sneak peak of deception. As you might have noticed, I haven't posted anything new in a while… (bad me, I know.) The reason for this is personal, and let's just say that I've had a year that's been… well I'm glad it's over with. **

**I decided to rewrite the first few chapters as they were a bit short. I'll add in them some more of the back story so the future chapters aren't filled with them, and connect a few dots that haven't yet. So that's my big announcement.**

**Now, in hopes of forgiveness, I'll answer some of the more recent questions:**

**The main character is for the moment mainly Nalani. I know the title is Harry Potter and the Fire Heiress, and Harry will be very present in the story, I just suck at title-ing things… like my paintings that have really weird titles because I couldn't find something better. As the story evolves, Kiran will become a main character also.**

**A lot of people asked me if Harry's gonna have a bending ability… That question I'm not answering, you'll find out eventually, won't you?**

**Ahh pairings… so many questions about pairings. The only thing I have to say about this is: Guys… they're 11! From what I remember of my childhood, at that age most people are still "ew cooties!" and such. For Nalani, the explanation is simple and coming in a future chapter not too far. **

**Will the new characters affect the way the canon characters and story in general develops? Of course it will.. it'd be weird if it didn't… not that much at the beginning, but slowly, you'll see it.. like a plant growing in the sun on a sunny spring… ahem, sorry.**

**Did they cast an extansion spell on the inside of their house? Yuh-huh! And a minor confounding charm too, so the muggles don't notice, or think it's a trick of the light.**

**Last thing I'd like to say is… Keep in mind I'm a comic artist. I'm trying to not go crazy in descriptions, but it drives me insane that there's no picture to show what I'm trying to say.**

**But I have drawings here and there, and if there's enough people interested, I'll post them on my Deviantart account (of which I have a link in my profile) and also upload a PDF version of my fanfiction with the images (when it's done).**

**Thanks to those of you who haven't given up on me yet. I'll repost chapter 1 soon, so stay tuned… Oh and I need a new Beta reader, I guess I was gone too long…**


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